This Week in Digital

Laura Britten

Marketing Manager

October 7th 2016

This week in digital

Like My Addiction

This week the French charity Addict Aide, which helps people struggling with addiction, revealed it was behind an Instagram account set up two months ago which had received more than 18,000 followers and 50,000 likes. The account showed 25-year-old Louise Delage partying, dining out and enjoying the beach with an ever-present drink in hand. The fake account aimed to highlight just how easy it is to miss damaging addictive behaviours, and how social media can actively encourage it through likes and positive reinforcement. According to Addict Aide, one in five deaths in young people is caused by addiction, which makes this campaign all the more poignant.

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook recently introduced a new feature for users looking for a bargain on their app, Facebook Marketplace. However, only one day in and users were already taking advantage of the new feature as a way to sell drugs, guns and… baby hedgehogs?! A Facebook spokesman said: “As we expanded Marketplace access, we encountered a technical issue that prevented our reviewing system from identifying some posts that violated our commerce policies and community standards.”

Vegan Cheese Gary

This week Sainsbury’s launched a vegan alternative to cheese made from coconuts. This infuriated one Facebook user who ranted: “call it Gary or something, don’t call it cheese because IT’S NOT CHEESE!” Sainsbury’s reacted in the most brilliant of ways – by taking the advice of the incensed user and rebranding the dairy-free produce “Gary”. The supermarket has gained a lot of coverage on this story with vegans and dairy-lovers alike embracing the move.

And Finally…

You may have thought the Pokémon Go craze was over – well someone needs to tell the Norwegian Prime Minister. On Tuesday, Erna Solberg was pictured playing on the app during a debate in Norway’s parliament. She took the outing rather well and retorted with “we ladies can do two things at the same time you know”. On a recent trip to Slovakia, Solberg took time out in order to hatch some of her Pokémon eggs.